I enlisted in the Army after college with four Black belts and, feeling pretty confident in my skills, I started to fight in some “Tough Man” contests down in Georgia. While I was winning these events they were not easy and they should have been because I was fighting mostly drunks and overweight tough guys. I realized that my training needed to go to the next step and I sought out teachers who knew the Philippine arts of both Kali and Dumog, which I had heard were used to fight the rebels of the Philippine islands. Becoming proficient in these arts at the same time getting a deep dive into the Armies Close Quarters Fighting System, I started to win those bar room fights easier and easier. I furthered my training by going to the west coast and enrolling in classes taught by Dan Innasanto, which proved to be worth their weight in Gold. I met up with some very tough characters. There's way too many to name here, but one, Paul Vunak, became a good friend. He was lethal and I knew by working with him I could start to polish my own fighting system. Paul introduced me to Brazilian Ju-Jitsu and then to Rickson Gracie who started to show me his ground game which is great, but even better when combined with everything else I knew.

I have retired from the fight scene -- both tournaments and money fights, to teach people how to fight using my system. My gym focuses on conditioning, fight techniques and sparring for they are all related. A fighter must be in good shape, know moves and be able to execute those moves when the need arises. I enjoy making that happen."

-- Rich Wilson